Package for liquid or solid materials

ABSTRACT

A bag which is flexible and impervious to a solid or liquid filling material is accommodated inside a covering of parallelepipedal form, the top and one of the side walls of which each have two angular fold lines. The top is made in one piece and has an outwardly directed peripheral rim for attachment to the adjacent side wall portions of the covering and acts as a reinforcement for the upper edges of the side wall. After an opening has been made in the covering a double pouring spout is formed by pressing the other two opposite side walls between the fingers.

United States Patent 1191 Druyts Jan. 21, 1975 PACKAGE FOR LIQUID 0RSOLID 2,982,461 5/1961 11611111 229/17 R M l L 3,297,226 l/l967Scholle..

3,447,732 6/1969 Deckys 229/l7 R [75] Inventor: Romam Druyts, Duffel,Belg1um [73] Assignee: Quepar S.A., Fribourg, Switzerland PrimaryExaminerwiuiflm Price Assistant ExaminerBruce H. Bernstein [22] Flled:July 1972 Attorney, Agent, or FirmWilliam Kaufman [21] Appl. No.:275,641

[57] ABSTRACT [30] Foreign Application Priority Data A bag which isflexible and impervious to a solid or Aug. 3, 1971 Belgium 63655 liquidfilling material is accommodated inside a Covering of parallelepipedalform, the top and one of the 5 s CL 229/7 R 229/14 B, 229/14 BE sidewalls of which each have two angular fold lines.

229/17 G 229/51 D, 229/51 AS 229/51 T3 The top is made in one piece andhas an outwardly di- 51 Int Cl 5 5 70 5 5/54, 5 17/20 rected peripheralrim for attachment to the adjacent 53 Field f Search 229/17 R 7 R 14 B14 BA, side wall portions of the covering and acts as a rein- 229/14 BE,51 D, 51 5 51 AS forcement for the upper edges of the side wall. Afteran opening has been made in the covering a double [56] References Citedpouring spout is formed by pressing the other two op- UNITED STATESPATENTS 7/1943 Wilcox 229/7 R posite side walls between the fingers.

2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PACKAGE FOR LIQUID OR SOLID MATERIALS Thisinvention relates to a pack for liquid or solid filling materials, forexample, milk or milk powder, comprising a bag which is flexible andimpervious to the filling material and is accommodated, with its upperand folded over, inside a supporting covering of parallelepipedal formhaving side walls, a base and a top.

A pack of this kind has been proposed, the ends of the covering beingclosed by the folding over of four flaps each integral with a side wallof this covering. So as to ensure the closing of the upper end of thecover ing, three of the four flaps have had two diagonal fold linesenabling pairs of tabs to be formed in these flaps, the tabsconstituting surfaces used for sticking the three flaps together, whilethe fourth flap is folded down over these three flaps and stuck to them.The opening of such a pack involves tearing off the fourth flap of thecovering and then tearing the bag through the opening defined by thethree folded-over flaps.

The formation of fold lines in a top or cover formed of a plurality offlaps and the sticking of the folded parts of these flaps to asupporting surface constitutes a relatively difficult operation whichinvolves complicated equipment. Moreover, the fact that the ends of thecovering are constituted by a plurality of flaps projecting on .theoutside of the covering requires, in order to ensure sufficient rigidityat these ends, a packing material that is heavier than would otherwiseby required and, consequently, requires more eleborate sealing means andlower production rates are therefore obtained.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a pack of simplerand lighter construction, the ends of which are closed by a base and atop forming, with the side walls, a parallelepiped without any flaps orflap portions protruding beyond the side walls.

According to the invention, the top is made in one piece and has anoutwardly directed peripheral rim for attachment to the adjacentportions of the side walls of the covering so as to act as areinforcement for the upper edges of the side walls, the arrangementbeing such that after an opening has been made in the covering, at thejunction of the top and said one side wall, a double pouring spout canbe formed by urging the other two opposite side walls of the coveringtowards each other as by pressing them between the fingers. This doublepouring spout enables the flow of the fluid to be directed with the packboth in a horizontal position and in a vertical position and permitsstorage of the open pack in either of these two positions.

The bag may have, on the side where the opening in the covering is to beformed, a tab folded over with its end directed towards the opening andgripped between the rim of the top and the upper edge of the adjacentside wall. Gripping of the end of the tab between the rim of the top andthe edge of the side wall obviates the use of an adhesive for securingthe bag to the covering. Moreover, extension of the tab of the bagthrough the opening prevents the filling material being able to flowinto the covering when it is being poured.

A line of weakness may be fomed along the edge of the rim of the top andin the side wall adjacent the junction with the rim of the top, the tabof the bag being gripped between the surfaces formed by the lines ofweakness, so that the said tab is torn away simultaneously with tearingaway of the strip formed by these lines.

The invention will now be described by way ofexample with reference tothe accompanying drawings which illustrate two embodiments of thepacking. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an exploded diagrammatic perspective view of a firstembodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the covering of the pack of FIG. 1, thecovering being shown in the open position.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view partly broken away of a second embodimentof the invention shown in transparent form.

In these drawings, the same reference numbers designate identicalelements.

FIGS. 1 to 3 illustrate a pack for a flowable filling material, eitherliquid or solid, for example milk or milk powder, comprising an outercovering 1 of parallelepipedal form made of a material which isflexible, but sufficiently rigid, for example, it can be of board, toform a support for a flexible and fluid-tight bag 2 capable ofcontaining the filling material. The covering 1 includes side walls 3,4, 5 and 6, a base 7 and a top 8.

The base and top are each made in one piece and have peripheral rims 9and 10, respectively, directed outwardly of the covering. These rimsconstitute surfaces for attachment to the side walls of the coveringbetween which the base and the top are inserted before introduction andafter introduction, respectively. ofthe sealed bag filled with thefilling material.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and in order to facilitate pouring of thecontents of the bag, the covering has two outwardly directed angularfold lines 11, 12 in the top and, in one of the side walls, for examplein the wall 6, there are also two outwardly directed angular fold lines13, 14. After forming an opening in the covering at the junction 15 ofthe top and this side wall, these fold lines enable a double pouringspout l6, 16' to be formed in the covering by bringing the other twoopposite side walls 3 and 5 of the covering nearer to one another bypressure between the fingers.

Moreover, these fold lines define between them, in the top, triangles20, 21, 22 and, in the side wall, triangles 23, 24, 25 forming betweenthem troughs serving as a support for the tab of the bag drawn throughthe opening, permitting pouring and putting away of the pack equallywell either in the horizontal position or in the vertical positionthereof.

As shown in FIG. 2, the folding lines ll, 12 and I3, 14 meet at thelevel of the junction 15. With a view to facilitating the opening of theouter covering in the vicinity of the junction 15 and to give thisopening a definite form, a line of weakness 17 for tearing away aportion of the covering is provided in the top and, moreover, at leastpartially in the side wall 6 level with the edge 15 at which the wall ofthe top 8 and this side wall join. This line of weakness 17 is extendedat its ends as far as the top edge of the side wall and of the top inorder to define a strip 18.

The bag 2 is made of a flexible and fluidtight material and, afterfilling, it is sealed at the top. The height of the bag is substantiallygreater than the height of the covering so as to have availablesufficient clearance to be able to form a folded tab 27 directed towardsthe opening forming the double pouring spout I6, 16', through which itcan be withdrawn after the strip 18 (see FIG. 3) has been torn away.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the end of the tab of the bag ispinched between the rim of the top along the edge and the top edge ofthe wall 6, so that by tearing away the strip 18 formed by the lines ofweakness 17 the said tab 27 of the bag is opened simultaneously. The endof the tab 27 may project slightly beyond the edges between which it ispinched, so as to form a grip portion for initiating tearing away of thestrip 18.

What I claim is:

l. A pack for containing liquid or solid filling materials, comprising aflexible bag impervious to the filling material and accommodated, withits upper end folded over, within a supporting covering ofparallelepipedal form which is flexible but sufficiently rigid tosupport the bag and formed of side walls, a base and a top, the top andone of the side walls each having two angular folding lines, the topbeing made in one piece and having an outwardly directed peripheral rimfor attachment to the adjacent exterior portions of the side walls ofthe covering so as to act as a reinforcement for the upper edges of theside walls and a portion of the rim and the adjacent wall to which thisportion is attached each having mutually facing lines of weaknessdefining a tear-off strip between which the extremity of a folded tab ofthe bag is gripped. the arrangement being such that said tab can be wornaway simulteneously with the tearing away of the strip formed by thelines of weakness to obtain an opening in the covering at the junetionof the top and said one side wall and a double pouring spout can then beformed by urging the other two opposite side walls toward each other.

2. A pack according to claim 1, wherein the end of the folded tab of thebag projects outside the covering to facilitate tearing away of thestrip.

l l l= UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Q PatentNo. 5,861,577 Dated January 21, 1975 Inventor s Romain Druyts It iscertified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

On the Cover Sheet, in item 175} "Quepar S.A." should read Quepor S.A.

' Signed and Scaled this eleventh D2 0f November 1975 [SEAL] Arrest:

RUTH-C. MASON C. MARSHALL DANN dimming )ffit ('vmmissimu'r ul'larenlxand Trademarks F RM PC4050 USCOMM-DC 60376-P69 mum TAT as PATEM {ME-FEE@ERTIFIEATE GE CUEUHQ Patent Nm 3,861,577 Dated January 1975 Inventor(5)Romain Druy'ts It is certified that error appears in theabove-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are herebycorrected as shown below:

In column 1, line 61,, "fomed" should be --*formed---,

In column 4,, line 9, "worn" should be -torn--,

Signed and sealed this 15th day of July 1.9750

(SEAL) Attest:

. Ca MARSHALL DANN RUTH Ca MASON Commissioner of Patents ArrestingOfficer and Trademarks

1. A pack for containing liquid or solid filling materials, comprising aflexible bag impervious to the filling material and accommodated, withits upper end folded over, within a supporting covering ofparallelepipedal form which is flexible but sufficiently rigid tosupport the bag and formed of side walls, a base and a top, the top andone of the side walls each having two angular folding lines, the topbeing made in one piece and having an outwardly directed peripheral rimfor attachment to the adjacent exterior portions of the side walls ofthe covering so as to act as a reinforcement for the upper edges of theside walls and a portion of the rim and the adjacent wall to which thisportion is attached each having mutually facing lines of weaknessdefining a tear-off strip between which the extremity of a folded tab ofthe bag is gripped, the arrangement being such that said tab can be wornaway simulteneously with the tearing away of the strip formed by thelines of weakness to obtain an opening in the covering at the junctionof the top and said one side wall and a double pouring spout can then beformed by urging the other two opposite side walls toward each other. 2.A pack according to claim 1, wherein the end of the folded tab of thebag projects outside the covering to facilitate tearing away of thestrip.